1. Field of the Invention
The disclosed invention generally relates to a labeling system and method. More particularly, the disclosed invention relates to multi-flag label and method for labeling a primary source container and tracking doses of material taken and delivered to material recipients associated with a given primary source container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art discloses a variety of labeling means for identifying medicines and the like, as well as tracking dosages provided to patients. Some of the more pertinent prior art relating to labels and method of their use are described hereinafter. U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,383 ('383 patent), which issued to Baucom, for example, discloses an identification band, fastener and pilot tube for use in blood handling procedures to minimize blood transfusion errors. The fastener and pilot tube are integrally connected to the band and the pilot tube is adapted for release through action of the fastener when forming the band into a bracelet on an extremity. The bracelet and pilot tube carry removable labels presenting like indicia.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,523 ('523 patent), which issued to Haines, discloses a label for attachment to a container having a pharmaceutical product therein is in the form of an elongated strip substantially longer than the circumference of the container to which it is adapted to be secured. The strip is delineated into at least three zones with the two end zones including indicia identifying the product name, quantity of the product, and the expiration date. One of said end zones is provided with adhesive for securement to the container and is delineated from the remainder of the label by a perforation line.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,277 ('277 patent), which issued to McDounough, discloses methods of labeling and novel labels for needle syringes and medication vials are provided, involving fool-proof transfer of medication information labels peelable from the vial and applied as a syringe label tag or flag remote from the syringe barrel calibrations and in no way impeding physical syringe operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,870 ('870 patent), which issued to Mangini et al., discloses a kit for distributing pharmaceutical products comprising a tray of containers of drugs. Each container is provided with a multipart flag label. The flag label comprises a plurality of self-adhesive stickers which are used for labeling the container and for making entries in inventory records, medical charts, billing statements and the like. To use the kit a prescriber need only insert the patient's name, the date the drug is prescribed and the number of authorized refills on the label. All other information required by law or good practices is pre-printed on the label. The stickers are then detached from a protective backing sheet and affixed as indicated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,775 ('775 patent), which issued to Walker et al., discloses a medication delivery and monitoring system and methods whereby drugs are safely delivered to a patient, monitored in real-time during delivery and crucial events are recorded during delivery to provide real-time, on-line information and detail for an audit trail. A novel safety label cradle unit is disclosed. Safety label cradles (SLC's) are provided in a plurality of sizes to match varying sizes of syringes which are disposed on a cradle of the SLC to provide a constant needle height on the SLC unit independent of syringe volume (barrel diameter). A selected SLC is securely affixed to a syringe by an adhesively backed label wrapping. The label is preprinted to provide drug identification indicia and drug preparation information. The information is automatically read into the system from the label. A novel delivery station of the system monitors drug delivery as a plunger of the syringe is pushed to deliver a drug to a patient. A smart tray in cooperation with a slider portion of the SLC is used to selectively deliver drugs to a port in the IV set. The smart tray comprises a first portion for carrying SLC units, an attachable second portion having a control panel for operating the system and a cover for lockably affixing the SLC units to the tray.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,472 ('472 patent), which issued to Huddleston et al., discloses a form having detachable labels and a wristband is provided. The form includes a face ply adhered to a liner ply by a pressure sensitive adhesive. The face ply includes a first portion and a second portion, where the first portion is die cut to form a wristband and the second portion is die cut to form a series of detachable labels. The form may be printed in a single pass through a printer to provide the wristband and labels with correlating printed indicia.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,640 ('640 patent), which issued to Caulfield et al., discloses a system for establishing and maintaining the identity of a medication in a syringe (80) from the point in time that a medication is withdrawn from a vial (30) to the point in time that the medication is administered to a patient. This method is based on integrating a label dispenser (40) including preprinted, pressure sensitive, syringe labels (71) with a medicine vial (30). As the medication is withdrawn from the vial a label is provided that identifies the contents of the vial. When this label is applied to the syringe it provides the ability to verify that the correct medication and dosage is being administered to the correct patient. Subsequently the label can be removed from the syringe and used to provide a permanent record of the administration.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,685,227 ('227 patent), which issued to Merry et al., discloses an arrangement of pharmaceutical labels in a sheet and to a method of monitoring administration of the pharmaceuticals to a patient using those labels. The labels may include indicia to assist transferal of information and/or to a label including information to assist in the administration by infusion of a pharmaceutical to a patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,685,678 ('678 patent); U.S. Pat. No. 7,074,209 ('209 patent); and U.S. Pat. No. 7,115,113 ('113 Patent), which issued to Evans et al., disclose drug administration systems including a cradle attached about an intravenous injection port having a flange extending therefrom. The cradle supports first drug administration information in the nature of machine and human readable code, for example, barcode. A syringe including a needle includes a flange extending from the syringe. The syringe supports second drug administration information in machine and/or human readable form. A scanner module is constructed to slideably receive the flange of the cradle and syringe whereby the syringe needle is aligned with the intravenous injection port. The module may be provided with an electronic scanning system for identifying the first and second drug administration information, as well as determining the amount of the drug being administered from the syringe to the injection port by monitoring movement of the syringe plunger. The information and data may be stored within the module for uploading to a remote location.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,994,249 ('249 patent), which issued to Peterka et al., discloses a system and method for drug management using transferable labels provides a chain of identity for medications from their arrival in a pharmacy to administration to a patient. Drug information is read, in some embodiments optically, and imprinted on a transferable label optionally fabricated of low stretch, chemical resistant material, that is attached to the medication package. The transferable label is checked to make sure that it correctly corresponds to the drug information. At the time of preparation for administration, the transferable label is transferred from the medication package to the administration device, typically a syringe or dose cup. The health care giver scans the patient identification information, usually found on an identification bracelet, the transferable label, and optionally, a unique code belonging to the administering party. The system will reject non-matches between scanned inputs, and may be configured with a variety of safety steps, displays, and reports.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,047,682 ('682 patent), which issued to Riley, discloses a business form particularly adapted for use during medical emergencies includes in a first embodiment a wristband/label assembly that is readily separable from a carrier, with the wristband including a single end for looping around a victim's appendage through a cinch and a tab carrying a plurality of labels with the wristband and each label having an identifying indicia such as a bar code printed thereon. The wristband bar code thus becomes associated with the victim and the labels are used to identify items associated with the patient such as his possessions, medical charts, medicines, etc. The wristband may be color coded so that as the medical personnel triage victims they are categorized by color as to their need for medical care, with the color coding thus being readily ascertainable by others as multiple victims are processed. A second embodiment includes a pre-printed form having a tab portion with the bar code labels as in the first embodiment and also a series of tear off tabs for indicating the medical condition of the patient. Additionally, the medical condition tabs may also be bar coded so that the patient's ID and medical condition may both be “swiped” into a data base using bar code information. Once the data is collected, it is conveniently input into a computer with the computer then transmitting the information to a server for display at a web site. The server and related software is fully capable of handling input from multiple computers in real time so that victim information is made available over the internet almost immediately as the victims are processed.
United States Patent Application No. 2002/0099334 describes a tracking code is adhered to a syringe label cradle for tracking each activity regarding the syringe label cradle, e.g., drug preparation, drug inventory, drug dispensing, drug administration, drug return, drug charges, etc. The tracking code may be in the form of bar or other machine readable code, as well as human readable indicia. The unique tracking code enables tracking of events pertaining to a specific syringe from the time of being prepared with a prescribed drug to its disposal or return to a hospital pharmacy. A log is created relating the patient to the specific drug used and all information inputted with respect to the tracking code.
U.S. Pat. No. RE38,189 describes a medication delivery and monitoring system and methods whereby drugs are safely delivered to a patient, monitored in real-time during delivery and crucial events are recorded during delivery to provide real-time, on-line information and detail for an audit trail. A novel safety label cradle unit is disclosed. Safety label cradles (SLC's) are provided in a plurality of sizes to match varying sizes of syringes which are disposed on a cradle of the SLC to provide a constant needle height on the SLC unit independent of syringe volume (barrel diameter). A selected SLC is securely affixed to a syringe by an adhesively backed label wrapping. The label is preprinted to provide drug identification indicia and drug preparation information. The information is automatically read into the system from the label. A novel delivery station of the system monitors drug delivery as a plunger of the syringe is pushed to deliver a drug to a patient. A smart tray in cooperation with a slider portion of the SLC is used to selectively deliver drugs to a port in the IV set. The smart tray comprises a first portion for carrying SLC units, an attachable second portion having a control panel for operating the system and a cover for lockably affixing the SLC units to the tray.
It may be seen from a consideration of the foregoing that the prior art appears to be silent on a multi-flag label comprising (1) an adhesive, transparent end for simultaneously (a) overlying information borne by the source container and (b) attaching the multi-flag label to the source container; (2) an intermediate parent label for identifying the source container with a user; and (3) a series of child labels for cross-linking the primary source container via the parent label with secondary dose delivery containers. Accordingly, the prior art perceives a need for such a multi-flag label as described in more detail hereinafter.